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This report describes results of the second year of a three-year extension of an Office of Education-funded program to prepare teachers and teacher aides to work with exceptional children in the regular classrooms. Emphasis was placed on three major areas: the training of teachers and aides, community involvement and institutional change, and the development of materials. Continued evaluation of progress of handicapped and more typical children at the laboratory school training setting indicated that their achievement and self-concept levels have been maintained or enhanced. Evaluation of trainee progress indicated that attitudes were improved and tendency to individualize increased, but that the use of attitudes and skills attained was largely contingent on the involvement and support of principals and superintendents where they were to be employed. Evaluation of impact on the community and institutions was couched in terms of activities that occurred partially because of project promotion. The progress report included 23 appendixes which contain details of program materials. (Related documents ED 043 598, ED 054 069.) (Author/MJM) more...

The five goals of the 3-year Education Profession Development Act (EPDA) Project covered in this report are: a) to retrain experienced teachers and train auxiliary educational aides to assist handicapped children and educationally impoverished children to reach a higher level of learning potential in the regular classroom; b) to use the team approach as a positive force for the development of skills and understanding of human relationships requisite to effective participation in a team enterprise, with division of labor and limits of autonomy identified for each participating member; c) to effect change in the teacher education program by providing multiple opportunities for early entry, as well as conventional entry, into programs for growth in knowledge, awareness, and sensitivity to the handicapping conditions to learning; d) to involve agencies from the community in the educative process for the enhancement of learning for all children and for facilitation of constructive interaction between schools and communities; and e) to develop and test for dissemination techniques and materials that have been found useful in dealing with children with wide ranges of ability in the regular classroom. The document describes the operation of the program and includes two extensive appendixes ("Self-Concept Assessment Among Children" and "Performance Objectives and Related Data." (JA) more...

A study was conducted to determine: (1) the extent to which changes of self-report scores (between pretest and post-test) on a measure of defensiveness were related to changes of self-report scores (between pretest and post-test) on a measure of self-concept; and (2) if changes of self-report scores on a measure of defensiveness as covariates would significantly adjust changes of self-report scores on a measure of self-concept. The Tennessee Self-Concept Scale was used; the (openness to) "self-criticism scale was used as the measure of defensiveness, and the "total positive" score was used as the measure of self-concept. Data were drawn from treatment and control groups of Navajo boarding school adolescents (the treatment group participated in an individualized physical education program). Changes in scores for defensiveness correlated to an extent significantly greater than zero with changes in self-concept scores in both groups. Analysis of variance revealed that: (1) scores from the treatment group changed significantly more in the defensive direction than in the control group; and (2) the mean score change for self-concept in the treatment group was not significantly different from the mean change in the control group. The extent of increase in defensiveness scores tended to cancel out the change in self-concept scores. (KM) more...